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The Late Basketmaker II Era (AD 50 to 500) was a cultural period of Ancient Pueblo People when people began living in pit-houses, raised maize and squash, and were proficient basket makers and weavers. They also hunted game and gathered wild foods, such as pinyon nuts.
Contents
- Communities
- Agriculture
- Material goods
- Cultural groups and periods
- Notable Late Basketmaker II sites
- References
The Early and Late Basketmaker II Eras (Pecos Classification) are often described as one "Basketmaker period".
Communities
The primary dwellings of this era were round or circular pit-houses that were built on open land and partially below the ground surface. The entrance to the house faced east or south. Logs and rocks were often used for the dwellings foundation. The building materials for the walls could include stacked logs, jacal or poles and brush. In the center of the dwelling was a fire pit.
Some early people built their dwellings within the natural protection of rock shelters, especially during the beginning of this period.
Agriculture
The Basketmaker II people raised maize and squash, the first people of the northern American southwest to do so, which required them to be located near sources of water and good soil. Carbon isotope analysis of bones of Archaic people compared to Basketmakers indicates that the Basketmakers' diet was rich in maize.
Manos and metates were used to grind maize and other foods. Food was stored below ground in storage cists, often lined with slabs of stone.
Material goods
Excavated items from this period include:
About AD 200, the middle of this period, there was some experimentation with a crude form of brown pottery.
Cultural groups and periods
The cultural groups of this period include: